SIM4NEXUS increased the understanding of how water management, food, energy, biodiversity and land use policies are linked together and to climate and sustainability goals. The project adopted a transparent and detailed analysis of a System Dynamic Model behind the Nexus to be used as an exploration tool. SIM4NEXUS also experimented with different combinations of policy cards and compared their effects in different contexts. This offers the Serious Game the ability to train policy makers and make them find cross-sectorial solutions to the Nexus problems. The following main results are achieved:
Metrics were developed and tested to assess the strength of resource interlinkages, with direct (e.g. water -> energy) and indirect interlinkages (e.g. water -> food -> energy) were explored. A heuristic algorithm has been developed and tested in the case studies, to quantify the interlinkage intensity. This is tested on a number of case studies.
Four Case Studies (Greece, Azerbaijan, Latvia and the Netherlands) are deployed and ready to be played through the Serious Game (
https://bit.ly/39kendE(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)). In addition, the Global Case Study has developed a demonstration tool which can be accessed through the SIM4NEXUS Serious Game platform (
https://bit.ly/3n3uO1R(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre)). The game corresponding to the UK case study is under maintenance, being refined and improved. The current link to play this game is:
https://bit.ly/33eyQNv(s’ouvre dans une nouvelle fenêtre). The Serious Games are available for secondary and university education, for supporting decision making, and for raising awareness among civil society. A practical guidance is delivered on the application of a serious game in participatory processes under real life conditions. It gives proof of evidence the Serious Games are rich in information.
System Dynamics Models (SDMs) are available for 11 case studies, including south-west UK, Andalusia, Sardinia, Latvia, Sweden, the Netherlands, Greece, Azerbaijan, transboundary France-Germany, transboundary Germany-Czech Republic-Slovakia and Europe. No SDM is available for the global case, because detailed (multi-region) assessments are available from the thematic models.
Each case study organised between 2 to 5 stakeholders workshops, as well as stakeholders engagement activities such as bilateral meetings, participation to conferences, Serious Game demonstrations, online surveys, etc. Each workshop gathered around 15-30 people, while the surveys managed to collect responses from 60-100 participants. Overall, each case study involved from 30 to 60 organisations in the project’s activities.
SIM4NEXUS showcased the added value in adopting the nexus concept in policy. First, options for synergy between water, land, food, energy and climate are used, while unforeseen and unwanted trade-offs are avoided. Second, transparency in the policy process is established and more innovative solutions developed because of the interdisciplinary co-operation and transdisciplinary method of working. So far, a nexus approach remains used to a limited extent only. However, the viewpoints and framing of policies is changing from a sectoral approach to thematic and more integrated systems approaches. Although the word ‘nexus’ is not explicit in recent European policies, examples are the European Green Deal, the From-Farm-to-Fork Strategy and Horizon Europe.
